They had some intense battles on the international stage.
Argentina’s Luis Scola made FIBA tournaments his own personal playground, winning two silver medals in five FIBA World Cup tournaments, plus two gold, four silver, and three bronze medals in the FIBA AmeriCup.
Spain’s Pau Gasol was just as spectacular, helping Spain win the FIBA World Cup in 2006, along with three FIBA EuroBasket titles. He was also named MVP of EuroBasket in 2009 and 2015.
So, when Gasol asked Scola in the FIBA World Cup Draw—via video conference—a memory of the hardest opponent he played against, the latter’s answer was rather unsurprising.
Gasol was one of them.
“When you talk about hard opponents, it’s impossible not to think about Pau. He’s definitely one of my toughest opponents,” Scola admitted. “He actually plays my position.”
Scola also gave credit to the La Roja, who are, incidentally, the reigning World Camp champions. And they won the Naismith Trophy in 2019 at the expense of—yes—Scola’s Argentina, although Gasol was retired by then.
“Not only him. It’s also the Spanish national team that was always a really tough team to play,” Scola added. “It was also a lot of fun to play both Spain and Pau. So, definitely Pau is up there in the short list.”
Prior to 2019, Argentina and Spain most memorably played in an epic semis clash in the 2006 World Cup, where Gasol’s La Roja outlasted Scola’s El Alma Argentina, 75-74, on its way to winning that year’s edition.
Spain will be one of contenders again in the upcoming FIBA World Cup, while Argentina will be out of commission as it failed to qualify for the big dance.
Catch the games live on One Sports and TV5.